Creative writing can be an incredibly challenging mental activity (and physically, depending on how much coffee you’ve had). This doesn’t just apply to novelists or marketing copywriters either, it can affect anyone who is actively required to generate content. And yes… this includes blogs. TRUST me.

Coming up with a new idea for a blog post each week is not as easy as it may seem, which is something we have admittedly been slacking with here at Glacier Digital HQ. The last few months we have experienced some growth and have only squeezed out an average of 1 blog post per MONTH. This is one of the reasons this exact blog post has been written. If your business already has a blog or is planning on proceeding with one, updating it once a week on average is industry-wide best practice.

Why post once a week?

Unless your business is completely dependent on online ad-driven traffic generated by frequently updated content, posting an article on your blog once a week should suffice. It will compliment your business’ activities and will provide your customers with something to look forward to on a Friday afternoon (which, is the optimal time to post).

What do I talk about?

You would be surprised at how much your customers DON’T know about your business and your ongoing activities, in and out of the office. This includes industry news, tips, opinions and just about any relevant events or information available online. A great technique which can help generate ideas and catalogue them more effectively, is to create a list of topics, whether as draft posts in WordPress or Blogger (or whatever blogging platform you use), or even good old paper and pen *gasp*!

More often than not, I will revisit an old topic that I jotted down during a brainstorming session and see if any ideas stick. Sure, there are times that I find myself starting at the keyboard, sometimes with my head in my hands, frustrated that I can’t get a specific sentence to sound…. just right. That’s when you look at it from a different angle, work on a different paragraph, or work on a different post entirely.

PLEASE… let your customers talk!

Taking the leap into social media is a big deal for many businesses, there is no doubt.  However, one of the worst decisions a business can make is shutting out the ability for users to provide feedback, whether it’s good or bad. This goes for not just Blog comments, but Facebook and other tools that have discussion or commenting systems built in. Worried that you will get a LOT of bad feedback? Well, instead of denying customers the right to ask questions and vent their disapproval, perhaps you should ask yourself why they have these concerns (or better yet, ask the customers!!). One of the many benefits of social media in general is the ability to bring the conversation down to a more personal level. Don’t give customers the “corporate cold shoulder”, let them feel as if you are attending to their issues in a way that makes them feel like a priority.

Blog writing is still writing, regardless of your opinion. Sure, sometimes facts and data are provided to fuel the content, but it is still written… by hand… by a human. As long as that’s the case, there will always be the possibility of “Blogger’s Block”.